Astonished, Bored and Melancholic
by Atra Bilis
Summary: A non-conformist drabble of stories concerning character interaction and the mundane. Each chapter is its own entity and they vary in terms of quality.
1. Rain

"Kyon!" a child holding a cat ran up to the boy. "Welcome ba- Ooh! You're all wet!" she exclaimed, using the cat's paw to point at him.

"Grab me a towel," he said as he folded his bangs backwards with his hand.

"Let's ask Shami," the child said as she held up the cat, who proceeded to twirl his head in a circular motion. "He has spoken!" she cried before prancing away with the cat, her childish face silly and youthful. " _Maybe, maybe, Shami, baby~._ "

The boy put a hand on his face and shook his head. _Yare_ _yare_ , he thought and walked in.


	2. Pomade

Mikuru's gaze goes to Kyon's sleeping face.

She curiously tussles his hair with her hand;

The way his locks mesh with her fingers reminds Mikuru of a sea of puppies.

She thinks for a moment that Itsuki's hair might be more akin to rubber.

 _Too much pomade_ , Mikuru chuckles before scolding herself.


	3. Stalemate

He noticed how Kyon's face furrowed in contemplation, how his hand moved forward, then back, then forward. Toward his rook then to his chin. Toward his Queen, then his lips. So very careful of not touching any piece without absolute commitment. Itsuki, however, knew he himself had won the game. On his turn, Queen to C8 check, Rook to E8 block, Knight to F7 check, King to F8, Queen to E8; back-rank checkmate in three.

Kyon's unsure gestures gave off a similar impression. Watching him mutter calculations under his breath made Itsuki's smile sharpen in admiration. _You don't know how to lose, do you?_

Kyon moved his Queen into an aggressive and sacrificial position before uttering Itsuki's future words, "Check."

Itsuki instinctively grabbed onto his rook to take the Queen before realizing his blunder. The calculations flurried in his head: Queen to B3 check, Rook take, Rook take check, King to B2, Rook to B1 check...; Itsuki's eyebrows raised in surprise, Kyon was going for a perpetual. _Sloppy, but the idea is there._

Kyon's concentration broke when a shadow loomed over the chessboard.

"Good game," Itsuki said as he offered a handshake.


	4. Winter

Sasaki holds her hands close to her chest. The warmth of her dark sweater soothes her burning fingers, but just barely.

"Cold?" Kyon asks as he begins to take off his sugar brown mittens.

"Observant," she replies with a small laugh.

"Here," he says, handing over the mittens. "These should help."

Sasaki takes them and looks over to Kyon, whose eyes are fixated on the snowy blank distance. He is now mirroring her hand prayer, though his sweater is not nearly as dark.

"Snow in November is really quite something," she says cooly. "I almost wonder, I should say, how frequently you desire early winters. Kuraokami may have granted it as a means of alleviation."

He looks over to her in confusion, their faces so red from the weather. _That was supposed to mean thank you,_ Sasaki reflects as she turns away from him. "Yare, yare Kyon."

After a moment, their gazes turn upward towards the powdery white sky. She curls her hand from the warmth of his mittens. He rubs his fingertips and slumps a bit more into the bench.


	5. Cafe

"I'm glad you did not ignore me," Sasaki said playfully.

"I had no reason," Haruhi replied.

"Ah," Sasaki gently clasped her hand together and smiled. "But I would not have held it against you if you would have. We are, I should say, mutually acquainted, so I could not help myself from waving to a familiar face."

Haruhi noticed how Sasaki's outfit highlighted her slim collar bone. "I can't stay for long," she said as she sipped idly on her milk tea.

"Oh. Feel free," Sasaki assured, moving her hands in a way that reminded Haruhi of Kyon. "I am already enjoying the company."

Haruhi remained unchanged as she sipped her drink.

Refusing awkward silence, Sasaki said smoothly, "I like your blouse. Tell me, where did you get it?"


	6. Preproduction

"Oscar winning?" Kyon said out loud as Haruhi turned to face him.

"Like this," she said as she dropped her shoulders and clenched the chest of her uniform. Haruhi's wide topaz eyes stared absently into his, shell shocked at first, then into descended defeat. She turned her gaze away and slumped her body into the wall, using her other hand to suppress very uncharacteristic whimpers. For reasons unknown, Haruhi's performance left Kyon gobsmacked.

Satisfied with her charade, Haruhi got up and gave a smile so bright that the orange around her face grabbed her teeth. "I want the audience to look _exactly_ like that," she said as she crinkled her nose in his direction.

Kyon gave her an annoyed look while shaking his head. "You're never going to get Nagato to do that."


	7. Pants on Fire

Itsuki flashes a smile at Mikuru as she sets a cup in front of him. She gives an acknowledged smile of her own, in her fidgety and clutzy sort of way, and backs off towards Nagato. Itsuki turns to face the club room's door and wonders if Mikuru is a natural ditz, or if the act is merely a facade that geniusly caters to both Haruhi and Kyon's expectations. Himself knowing that his facade only successfully caters to one of them (and on some doubtful nights, perhaps neither).

 _Nagato is the purest of us_ , he tells himself. _Who is the biggest liar?_ Itsuki looks back towards the windows and meets Mikuru's gaze. She looks down immediately, tousling her fingers and blushing; he continues to flash his handsome smile.


	8. Beer Fest

"All of it! All of it!" Haruhi screamed emphatically into Kyon's ear as she pumped her fist in the air. "Don't chump on me Kyon!"

Kyon's throat burnt acid as his belly grew increasingly warmer and bloated. Spilled fluids seeped out the sides of his lips and dripped onto his collared shirt. A tiny tear glided down his cheek as he crushed his eyes together.

A gulp.

A pause.

A gulp.

Then Kyon let out a muffled "bleh" before removing the clear tube from his mouth.

"Nice. Nice!" Haruhi nodded as she snapped the cap off of a Kirin bottle. She eagerly poured the contents into a funnel and looked around. "Alright, who's next on the beer bong?" Haruhi called out, her face a bright drunkard red.

Kyon, bent over in his seat, gently stroked his belly. " _This is it"_ , Kyon thought painfully. " _This is how the universe ends."_


End file.
